Vinegar-generator



1113111103131.) J. D. MURRAY.

171111131111 GENERATOR.

No. 333,133. Patented Mar. 16, 1336.`

11' ill 1 U11 11 l11 UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JAMES D. MURRAY, OF CANANDAIGUA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF 'IO RUFUS E. BOSHERT, OF SYRAOUSE, NEV YORK.

VINEGAR-GENERATOR.

SFIEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,183, dated March 16, 1886. Application filed December 5, 1885. Serial No. 184,765. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES D. MURRAY, of Canandaigua, in the county of Ontario, in the State of N ew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vinegar-Generators, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide a vinegar generating apparatus which shall with superior capacity occupy minimum space, and shall also be convenient and efflcient in its operation; and to that end my invention consists, essentially, of a chamber provided with air-inlets and air-outlets,atank for containing the liquor to be acetified, occupying the lower part of the said chamber,and a crate or perforated holder for acetifying material,arranged movable from the interior of the tank to the upper part of the chamber,all as hereinafter more fully described, and set forth in the claim. p

In the annexed drawings, Figure I is a side elevation of my invention, a portion of the side of the chamber being broken` away to show the internal arrangement thereof. Fig. II is an end elevation ofthe same. Fig. III is a vertical transverse section on line w x, Fig. IV; and Fig. IV is a vertical longitudinal section of the lower portion of the apparatus on line y y, Fig. III.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents the chamber in which the vinegar is generated. Said chamber is stationary, and in order to economize in space and permit of arranging a number of said chambers within a limited area I make said chamber either square or rectangularor other suitable prismatic shape.

Though I do not limit my invention to any particular shape, inasmuch as the economy in space may be of minor importance in some cases, the most essential feature is the stationary arrangement of the chamber A.

B denotes a tank for containing the liquor to be acetiiied,which tank occupies the lower part of the chamber A, and at or near the top of said tank the chamber A is provided with perforations a a, for the inlet of atmospheric air, which is caused to permeate through the chamber and escape through apertures b Z in the top of the chamber, as indicated by arrows in Fig. I of the drawings.

C represents aperforated holder for the shav- 5 5 ings required in the process of generating vinegar. Said holder may be of the form of a crate,or preferably a series of crates mounted removably one upon another, thereby obviating the4 danger of the shavings becoming 6o packed and incapable of quickly absorbing the liquor when immersed therein. Said holder is of proper shape and dimensions to allowit to enter into the tank B.

To the ends of the bottom crate are attached 6 5 upright standards, c c, which are provided with racks r r.

At the top of the chamber A, and lengthwise thereof, is arranged ashaft,d, journaled in suitable bearings on the ends of the chamber, and 7o provided with pinions e e, which mesh in the racks r r aforesaid. To the extremity of the said shaft is attached a gear-wheel, f, and in this meshes a pinion, g, mounted loosely on a gudgeon secured to the top of the chamberA, p

and to said pinion is attached a crank, h, by which to rotate it.

i denotes the thermometer applied to the chamber for indicating the temperature of the interior of said chamber.

Z designates the inlet for the liquor to the tank B.

m is the faucet through which to discharge the vinegar from the tank, and n represents a gage for determining the height of the liquor or vinegar in the tank.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The cider or other liquor to be fermented or acetiiied is introduced into the tank B through the inlet Z. The crate or crates C having previously been raised to the upper part of the chamber and the top of the chamber opened to obtain access to the crates, the latter are filled with beech-wood shavings or other analogous acetifying material; then the top or cover ofthe chamberis replaced and the crates are lowered into the tank B by turning the crank h. The shavings in the crates thus become submerged in the liquor contained in the tank. So soon as the shavings become saturated the crank h is turned in the opposite direction to raise the crates and their contents out of the tank and to the upper part of the chamber, as represented in Fig. I of the draw- IOO ings, in which position the crate or crates are retained until the liquor adhering to the acetifying material therein becomes acetified by the action of atmospheric air passing up through the acetifying material,as represented by arrows in Fig. I of the drawings. After the liquor adhering to the acetifying material becomes acetiiied, which is accomplished in about three hours, the crate or crates are again lowered into the tank containing the liquor to be acetilied, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, and then raised in the manner before described, and this is continued until the acetication of the liquor in the tank is complete.

Having described my invention,whatlclaim :ls-.....- 

